


Mr. And Mrs. Donovan

by DianneRose2016



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Lots of sexual content, Mentions of PTSD, Romance, Sexual Content, Suspense, Swearing, Violence, light scene of torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:54:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27904816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianneRose2016/pseuds/DianneRose2016
Summary: When an operation from his military past threatens his life, Jay has no choice but to go into WitSec. Only he's not going alone. Mouse, Will, and Hailey will be there with him and together they are determined to get through it. As they spend their time in hiding will Hailey and Jay finally allow their feelings to come out? And will they all survive the war ahead of them?
Relationships: Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Comments: 9
Kudos: 67





	Mr. And Mrs. Donovan

**Author's Note:**

> So I found this on my computer when I was going through my Google Drive. Let me know if this is something you would like for me to continue or not. If enough people want me to, then I will. This is set in Season 6.
> 
> I also have a poll up on my fanfiction profile page for all of my Chicago PD stories. Vote for which one you would like me to complete first. The one that has the most votes will be the story that I finish first. Then I’ll move on to the one with the second-highest votes etc.

  
  


Adam walked into the Bullpen just after eight that morning. He was slightly annoyed with how his morning had turned out. He was expecting to be spending it with Hailey only she got up and headed to the gym with Jay, again. He knew they were partners and they were close, but he had no idea just how close they were until he started to date Hailey. It’s like they were always together. At first he wasn’t too bothered by it, but now it was getting in the way of their time together. 

Adam headed over to his desk and saw that everyone was here, except for Hailey and Jay. Of course, because they were off having breakfast together like they always do after going to the gym. Adam tossed his things down and everyone picked up on how annoyed he was. 

“You alright Adam?” Kim asked.

“No, I’m annoyed. I was supposed to be with Hailey this morning, but once again she is with Jay. I swear it’s like they are an old married couple.”

“I don’t think they are that bad.” Antonio commented.

“Oh no? Jay will spend the night on the couch, even with me there, and Hailey won’t mess around with him downstairs because she doesn’t want him to hear it. Which I can get, but at the same time, he’s downstairs and it’s not like we’re that loud. And he wakes up at every single sound that is made, it’s like he doesn’t sleep. He’s up at five in the morning regardless of when he goes to sleep and makes coffee. He even cleans her place.”

“Ya, but that’s not that bad.” Kim said.

“He’ll be taking a shower and Hailey will go in there to pee and get ready for work, while Jay is naked in the shower. And if that isn’t bad enough he’ll do it while she’s in the shower. They’ve handed each other towels, yes it’s always behind the glass so you don’t see anything, but still. It’s just weird and getting annoying. I feel like if I’m going to date Hailey, I have to date Jay too.” Adam complained.

“Ok, the shower thing is a little close.” Kim agreed.

“Partners are supposed to be close though.” Kevin argued.

“We’re close, but I’m not handing you a towel in the shower.” Adam said back.

“It’s different with Jay though. He’s used to having other people around while he’s showering from the army. And it’s not like they are walking around naked or in their underwear with each other.” Antonio said with a shrug.

“He’s always there though. He cooks, he cleans, he even fixes things around the place. It’s like they are dating and I’m the piece on the side. I shouldn’t have to share the small amount of time outside of work that I get with my girl with having someone else there.”

“I get that.” Kevin agreed.

“So talk to her. Tell her how you feel.” Kim supplied.

“Ya, that’ll go over well.” Antonio said, sarcastically. He didn’t care what was going on with anyone outside of work, but he did know that Jay and Hailey were a packaged deal. Hailey would have no problem kicking Adam to the curb if he made her pick.

“What will?” Hailey asked as her and Jay walked up the stairs.

“Nothing.” Antonio said, dismissively. The very last thing he wanted to do was cause a fight or tension between anyone on the team.

“How was the gym?” Adam asked, doing his best to not show how annoyed he was.

“Good, Jay’s been teaching me different self-defence maneuvers.” Hailey answered, as they sat down.

“Better watch out Halstead, she’ll be able to kick your ass soon.” Antonio teased.

“Who says she can’t now?” Jay said back with a warm smile.

The others gave a chuckle to that. With having no cases right now they were free to have a lighter day and focus on any paperwork. At least they would have if their light and easy day didn’t get ruined by the presence of two military men walking up the stairs to the bullpen an hour later. Jay tensed at just the sight of them, his change caused Hailey to turn around to see what he was looking at.

“Jay?” Hailey asked with concern as she saw it was the military. 

“Sergeant Halstead.” The one man started.

“It’s Detective now.” Jay instantly said.

Jay had no idea what the hell was going on, but he knew for certain that he would not be going back to the army. He had received a medical discharge, but it wouldn’t be the first time when the military needed to call Vets back into action for a specialized mission. Antonio had gotten up and headed over to Voight’s office, which had the door closed and he knocked on it. He didn’t open it, as he knew that the simple knock would cause Voight to look up and he would see the military being here. 

“Detective Halstead, my name is Sergeant Roth and this is Sergeant Jackson. A situation has come up that we need to speak with you urgently about. Is there a place where we can go to speak in private?” 

“Anything you have to say to my Detective can be said right here.” Voight said, as he stood behind Jay with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What unit are you from?” Jay asked, because they were dressed in fatigues and not dress uniforms. 

“Army Intelligence, SP division.” Sergeant Jackson said.

“Oh shit.” Jay immediately said, he knew what that meant. What all of this meant. 

“What is it? What division is that?” Hailey asked, Jay. She knew the two Sergeants weren’t going to answer her. Jay tended to though, even when it was military intel.

“Special Protection. Military version of WitSec.” Jay answered, and it was clear he was still in shock.

“Detective, we really need to speak with you in private.” Sergeant Roth tried again. 

“WitSec, like someone you know is in witness protection?” Adam asked, as they all moved closer.

Jay stood up and ran his hands over his face. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He knew there was always that chance, but after being out for so long he figured that chance was non-existent now. 

“What um… what op?” Jay asked, trying to get his mind to focus on what had to happen.

“Mountain Storm.” Sergeant Jackson said, it was clear that they weren’t going to get Jay away from the others. They didn’t have the time to stand around and argue or coach him away. 

“Fuck.” Jay growled out. 

He could very clearly remember that operation. It almost caused his whole team to be killed. It was an operation designed to take down one of the most dangerous terrorist cells that were active in the Middle East. One that had reached all the way into the States. They had gotten everyone, but the brother of the man in charge. It was a complete elimination operation and it was successful with the exception of one person and now that one person was coming back to haunt them.

“We need to move quickly Detective. You know how the system works and how time sensitive it is.” Sergeant Roth said with understanding in his voice.

“Wait, you’re taking him?” Hailey asked, shocked. She thought they were here to tell Jay about someone else that he knows. She didn’t think he would have to go into witness protection.

“My brother Will, I can’t go without him. They’ll come for him.” Jay said, as he tried to get his mind back in the game.

“Who will?” Kevin asked. They weren’t getting any answers and that was not helping the situation at all.

“It’s classified. And we’ve already sent two others over to Med to collect him. We’re here to get you and send you off.” Sergeant Jackson said.

“Hold up, how long is he going under? Where is he going?” Voight demanded. 

“We can’t tell you that information. As for how long, it’s undetermined.” Sergeant Roth answered.

“It could be days, it could be years. They won’t know because I have to stay under until the threat has been eliminated.” Jay provided. “Mouse, he was there.” Jay said to the other two.

“We know. He’s already been taken care of. He’ll meet you wherever you are going. We don’t know much, but the Military is keeping you three together.” Sergeant Jackson answered.

“I’m going with him.” Hailey instantly said.

All eyes snapped over to her. Hailey didn't care though, she was not going to let Jay go into witness protection all alone. She didn’t care if Will or Mouse would be there with him, he was her partner and she was going to have his back.

“You can’t, it’s only family.” Sergeant Roth supplied.

“I’m his fiance.” Hailey said without any hesitation.

“Whoa what?” Adam said, he was pissed that Hailey was willing to do this. They had no idea how dangerous it would be or how long Jay would be gone for. Yet, she was willing to just jump right in without even talking to him about this.

“We’ve been keeping it quiet because we work together.” Hailey said.

“Being engaged puts you in a grey area. It’s up to you if you wish to go or to stay. Only you can make that decision, but it has to be made within minutes.” Sergeant Jackson said.

“We’ll give you a few minutes to say goodbye Detective, but then we have to leave. We’ll be out back.” Sergeant Roth said.

Jay just gave a nod and the two Sergeants headed out. Once they were alone Adam started.

“Hailey, what the hell are you doing? What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking my partner is not going in without backup.” Hailey said right back.

“He’s got Will and Mouse as backup. You can’t make a decision like this without talking it over with me.” 

“Talking it over with you? I don’t need to talk anything over with you Adam. This is my life and it’s my decision on what I do with it. I don’t ever have to talk about it with you.” Hailey snapped back.

She was not going to be putting up with any controlling shit from anyone. They weren’t married, they were fooling around and having fun. That didn’t give him any right to lay claim to her life or her decisions. 

“Alright everyone calm down.” Voight started and when everyone seemed to be more calm he spoke again. “Jay, what can you tell us?”

“Nothing, it’s classified and too dangerous for anyone to know even if it wasn’t.”

“What about military WitSec?” Antonio tried. He knew if Jay wasn’t talking there was nothing any of them could do or say to change it. They didn’t have time to argue, they needed to get as much information as they could.

“It’s not like Witness Protection for civilians. There is no handler, no security. There isn’t a single person in the division that knows all of the information. New identity is handled by one person, someone else handles the new location, another transportation. It’s done that way so no one can be grabbed and have the information tortured from them. The new identities are always vague and popular so they can’t be traced back to one specific location. Once you get there, you’re on your own. Even if trouble finds you, you have no way of getting a hold of anyone to help you out or relocate you.”

“All the more reason why I’m going with you.” Hailey said with strength to her voice.

“Hail, it’s not that simple. There’s no telling how long I’ll be gone for. It could be years, it could be forever. You won’t be able to reach out to any of your family, your friends. You’ll have to start a whole new life in some unknown location. You’ll be living a lie for however long it takes. And if it’s forever, you won’t be able to date anyone without putting them at risk. No husband, no children, you’ll constantly be looking over your shoulder. And if you agree to going, you can’t change your mind later on. It’s not an easy life to live.” Jay explained.

He was torn between wanting her there and wanting to keep her here where she would be safe. He had feelings for her and he suspected that she did for him as well, but they weren’t going to be crossing that line anytime soon. He would have loved to have her watching his back, beside him and keeping him calm and focused. She had that power over him, she had the ability to keep the demons more at bay. But if she went with him, she would be getting a target on her back as well and that would put her in danger. 

“I know this isn’t going to be easy. I know there are risks and a chance I might never be able to come back. But I also know that you are my best friend, my partner. I would never forgive myself if I let you leave without me watching your back. I appreciate you wanting to keep me safe here, but I’m going.” Hailey said with complete conviction in her voice. There was no talking her out of this.

Jay let out a sigh and turned his attention to Voight. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know what is going on, but I know whatever you did overseas you did it to protect innocent people. To protect this country. You risked your life and when you got out you continued to risk your life by serving this city. You got nothing to be sorry for. Tell me what you need.”

“We have to move quickly to get out of town. They’ll take Hailey and me to our places to grab some things. Military doesn’t do anything else but get us out though. So all of our bills need to be closed down, the apartments need to be cleared out and scrubbed with bleach to eliminate any fingerprints and DNA that could be used to trace our location.”

“We’ll handle it.” Voight easily said.

“Grab whatever you need from your locker.” Jay said to Hailey, who gave a nod. “Tony.” Jay said with a nod towards Voight’s office.

Antonio walked over and a simple look to Voight told him to follow. Jay closed the door and spoke.

“We don’t have long and this is going against everything I swore an oath to. This can’t leave this room. It stays with just us.” 

“You have our word.” Antonio easily said.

“In my bedroom, in the closet there is a safe, code is 1812. Within it will be a file labeled Mountain Storm with the un-redacted information. It’s all classified, but my unit was placed on an elimination operation to eliminate a whole terrorist cell that had ties to the States, specifically Chicago. We got everyone, but the leader’s brother. He was supposed to be there in the compound, but he wasn’t. We all knew there was a chance he would grow the cell back up and would come for us. Mouse and me can work on our end to try and find players to eliminate. But we’ll never be able to come back until Chicago is cleared. The military will handle overseas, but it’s up to the Feds to handle local.”

“Feds are too busy, they won’t care unless there is a direct threat to Chicago.” Antonio said.

“We’ll handle it. You give us the names and we’ll find em and take em out.” Voight added.

“They’ll work in groups, never alone. And most of them will have a cyanide capped tooth that they will use to kill themselves. All of them will be followers, but there will be one leader they answer to and he will answer to someone else overseas. You need to eliminate the followers and get the leader alive. Hand him over to the military and they will get the info out of him. If you capture any, you need to make sure they are in solitude, no phone calls and no contact with any guard that could have ties to anyone overseas.”

“We’ll make sure they don’t talk. I’m assuming you don’t want the others to know.” Antonio said.

“It’s dangerous for too many people to know. They won’t just target you, but your family. You need to be extremely careful with why you are going after them.”

“We will be. Can you keep in contact with us using a burner?” Voight asked.

“I can, but it’ll change all the time. If you both have a burner then I can contact you both at different times.”

“We got some downstairs, we’ll grab one and give you the numbers. When you get to wherever you are going text one of us and let us know. Do you need money?” Voight asked.

“No, they’ll give us cash to get us through six months or so. We won’t have a handler, so you’ll need to keep us updated if you hear anything.”

“We got you. You focus on coming back safe.” Antonio said.

“Ya. I gotta go, we gotta get out of town. If they are pulling us in, it’s because there’s an active threat in the city.”

Jay was trying to think about everything he had to do before they could get out of town. He was trying to get his mind in the game so they could get to where they needed to be safe. He had to get his mind back into his old thinking where he was always changing routines and keeping an eye out. He had gotten comfortable with being a cop because he didn't always have to be on point. Now he was going back to his Ranger mindframe and he would need to be on point to keep everyone safe. It was a comfort to know that he wouldn’t be alone, but also an added stress of knowing it wasn’t just his life on the line. They all headed out and Antonio quickly headed down the stairs to grab the burner phones and their number so Jay could have it. Hailey walked back into the bullpen with two duffle bags. She placed them down onto Jay’s desk as she spoke.

“I cleaned yours out too.”

Jay reached over and placed his hand on her forearm. When Hailey turned to look at him he spoke. “Are you sure about this?”

“One hundred percent.” Hailey said with complete strength and conviction in her voice. 

Jay looked into her eyes and he could see that there was nothing he could say or do to change her mind. He just gave a simple nod before he spoke again. “Time to say goodbye.”

The others all came over to them and Hailey pulled Kim in for a hug, while Kevin pulled Jay in for one. Hailey moved over to Adam and she could tell he was pissed about her leaving. She couldn’t blame him, but at the same time she didn’t care. She would pick Jay over Adam every time without any hesitation. Jay was her partner, she meant it when she said she would follow him through any door blind. This was about to be the biggest door he could ever go through and she was not about to let him go through it alone. 

“I guess you made your choice. Can’t say I’m all that surprised.” Adam said, just loud enough for Hailey to hear him.

“He’s my partner, my best friend Adam. I’ll always pick backing him up over anyone else. Just like you would with Kim. What we had was fun, but we both knew that’s all it was. You’re a great guy Adam, I wish you all the best.” Hailey said honestly.

“Well, if I was going to lose to someone, losing to someone as badass as Jay isn’t so bad.” Adam said with a smirk. “You stay safe and call me if you need help, I’ll be there.”

“I will.” Hailey said with a warm smile. 

Adam pulled her in for a hug, one she easily returned. After a moment Hailey pulled back and Adam went over to Jay to give him a hug. 

“Be safe Brother.” Adam said.

“Always. I’ll keep her safe.” Jay promised.

“I know.” Adam responded, as he moved back.

Antonio walked back in and handed Jay a small piece of paper with the new numbers. Jay put it into his pocket and Antonio pulled him in for a quick hug. 

“Be smart, be safe.” Antonio said.

“You too. I’ll let you know when we get to where we’re going.”

“Love you brother.”

“Love you too.” Jay said, as he pulled back.

“Don’t worry about your jobs, I’ll figure something out. But when this is all over and done with you’ll always have a home here.” Voight said.

“Appreciate it Sarg.” Hailey said warmly.

“Be smart. Listen to each other. You two are good alone, but you are great together. You might be the best partners I’ve seen in thirty years, so use it.” Voight said.

“We will Sarg.” Jay promised. He held his hand out and Voight easily took it and pulled him in for a guy hug.

Once they parted Voight gave Hailey a hug goodbye and they both knew it was time to go. Jay picked up their bags and they made their way towards the stairs to head to the back door. They saw an SUV waiting for them and Sergeant Roth opened the door and they both got into the backseat. Once they were all inside Sergeant Jackson was on his phone and Jay knew it would be to get Hailey some ID made on the fly. 

“Hailey needs to go to her place to grab some clothes.” Jay said.

“We’ll go to her place first then yours and then the airport. When we get to her place, Detective, you will stay in the car while I’ll escort Detective Upton in her apartment.” Sergeant Roth ordered. 

“Copy that.” Jay said.

No more needed to be said as they made their way through the city to get to Hailey’s apartment and then Jay’s. They both grabbed what they could in terms of clothing and any weapons they might have. Jay had a lot more stuff then Hailey. He had a duffle bag of clothes, but also another of weapons and his rifle case with his sniper rifle in it. It took a good two hours before they finally arrived at the airport to see a private plane was already here. 

“Last chance.” Jay said to Hailey before they got out.

“Let’s go.” Hailey simply said, as she opened her door.

Jay got out and they grabbed their things and headed for the plane. They placed them in the under compartment for storage before they headed inside with both Sergeants right behind them. Jay saw Will was already on the plane, he was sitting down, but stood up once they walked in. He pulled Jay in for a hug as Jay spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. You’re the only family I have left Jay, I’m going wherever you go.”

Jay pulled back and he could see it in Will’s eyes. He wasn’t angry or annoyed with having to leave his life behind. He was willing and prepared for whatever was going to come their way. Will pulled Hailey in for a hug, but didn’t comment on her being there. He figured they must have said something to get the military to agree to her coming.

“Alright, this is where we part ways. The pilot will be given this envelope.” Sergeant Roth started as he held up an envelope that was sealed. “As you can see it has been sealed and not open. The location is classified and the pilot will be the only one that knows the State you are being taken to. It is done this way to ensure your safety and your new identities are hidden. We don’t even know where you are going or who you will be.”

“When you land at the airport, a vehicle will be there for you. Within the vehicle will be two additional sealed envelopes. One will contain your new IDs and the other will contain the address of your new home. You will then drive to that address and begin your life. Within the compartment of this plane there is a duffle bag with cash, eighty grand, that is to support you until you have established jobs. It is also in case you need to leave whatever location you are in should you be burned. The moment you land you will be on your own.” Sergeant Jackson continued.

“Within that duffle bag there is a single pager. When the threat has been eliminated the pager will go off with a number for you to call. Call the number to verify that the threat has been eliminated and it is clear for you to return home. Should you need to split up for whatever the reason, ensure you have a way of contacting each other to inform them of the update. Do you have any questions?” Sergeant Roth concluded.

“What if they find us and we have to kill them?” Hailey asked.

“There’s a code that we leave behind and a phone number. The police will call the number and issue the code that will be routed to the proper channels to have the hostiles dealt with. That only works though with anyone connected to our threat. If someone else comes and we harm them or kill them we are at the mercy of the local police.” Jay supplied.

“Do you remember the number?” Sergeant Jackson asked.

“Ya I do and Mouse will too.”

“And our new IDs, they will be good enough for us to get jobs and open bank accounts, etc?” Will asked.

“They will appear fully legal and won’t give you any trouble.” Sergeant Roth answered.

When no one said anything else both Sergeants gave a nod and Roth spoke. “I’ll hand the pilot the envelope now. I wish you all the luck.”

“Thanks.” Jay said.

“Good luck and be safe.” Sergeant Jackson said, before he turned and headed out.

Once Sergeant Roth handed the pilot the envelope he headed out and the three of them went and got into their seats. There was a table on the plane so they all sat down at it, Hailey and Jay next to each other and Will across from them. Jay let Hailey have the window seat because she had never flown before. 

“How did they let you come?” Will asked Hailey, as they waited for take off.

“I wouldn’t be a very good fiance if I didn’t come.” Hailey said with a smirk.

Will couldn’t help the chuckle to that. Of course they lied just so Hailey could come. Will knew it would have been her idea, because there was no way Jay would ever willingly put her at risk. Hailey put her foot down and she wasn’t going to let Jay talk her out of it. The plane started to head down the runway and Hailey looked out the window. She watched as they eventually took off and climbed higher and higher in the air. Once they had finally leveled out Jay took off his seatbelt and got up. He headed over to the mini bar and poured them all a drink.

“Should we be drinking?” Will asked, as Jay placed them down on the table. 

“One won’t hurt you.” Jay answered.

He went back over and grabbed a pen and paper before he sat down on the table across from them and took a drink. 

“You do know the seatbelt sign is on right?” Hailey said with a smirk.

“Seatbelt sign is always on. You’re safe to take yours off. The plane is level and the wind isn’t too bad right now. We don’t have to worry about turbulence, not until it turns West, assuming we’re going that way.” Jay said.

“My brother the soldier.” Will teased with a warm smile as he removed his seatbelt and picked up his glass.

Hailey removed hers as she spoke. “Where do you think we’re going?” 

“I’m assuming a small town.” Will offered.

“Won’t be small. Too noticeable in a small town. A new person shows up and you’re all the town will talk about. It’ll be a town where you can blend in and people won’t care about you showing up. It won’t be a major city either, too many threats and possible connections to this cell.” Jay supplied.

“And who is this cell? They said it was connected to an operation you did overseas, but that was all they told me.” Will said.

“It’s classified.” Jay said, with a nod towards the cockpit. 

They both knew Jay wasn’t telling them because it was classified, but rather because they weren’t alone. They would have to wait until they got to wherever they were going before they got any answers. 

“Ok so a medium town. Do you think it’ll be the opposite end of the country?” Hailey asked.

“Don’t know. The Marshalls, they have safe houses all over the country that they keep for witness protection. The military does it differently. They don’t have safe houses, they purchase places when they need em. It could be a house, an apartment, it could even be a farm if the price is right and the location is perfect. Most of the time it is foreclosed homes that are cheap. When they no longer need it they sell it off. It makes it harder for someone to trace anything back to the division and recognize it as a safe house. We could be going to any State.” Jay answered.

“What are you working on?” Will asked.

“A list of what we’ll need to get.” Jay said, as he turned it around so they could see it. On it was written; food, ammo, cameras, burner phones, medical supplies.

“I’ve brought my medical bag, but I should get some different supplies just in case.” Will commented.

“Will Mouse be meeting us at the vehicle or will he be getting dropped off somewhere else?” Hailey asked.

“He’ll get dropped off with us and we’ll drive to the location together. He might already be there when we arrive.” Jay answered.

“You must be happy to see him. You guys haven’t seen each other in a couple of years with him being so busy.” Will offered.

“It’ll be good to see him. Though it could have been under better circumstances, but I guess it could have been under worse circumstances too. Hopefully he’s ok.” 

They could hear the slight worry within Jay’s voice. Hailey had never met Mouse, but she knew he was like a brother to Jay. They relied a lot on each other and were very close. She was excited to be finally meeting him and it would be good to have someone else that was trained with them. 

“I’m sure he’s good Jay.” Will said, trying to offer what comfort he could.

“What about computers?” Hailey asked.

“Mouse will have something with him. We’ll see what he has and go from there.” Jay answered with a shrug.

“Have you ever had to do this before?” Hailey asked.

“No, I’ve known guys who’ve had to go in and everyone in Special Ops is briefed on what happens if you have to go into WitSec. It gets drilled into your head. Hopefully we won’t have to be gone for long.” Jay answered.

“Do you think it’ll be quick and easy?” Will asked, looking for an honest answer.

Jay just shook his head no and they both knew that they were in this for the long haul. Will still couldn’t believe that this was happening. One minute he was standing in the ER working on his patients and the next he is being taken away and into protective custody. None of this felt real yet and Will knew it would take a minute before it did. Still, no matter how long it took, he wasn’t going to be leaving Jay to handle this on his own. He was one hundred percent in this and he was going to make sure that all four of them got out of this alive. Will wasn’t stupid, he knew it would be on Mouse to gather information. It would be on Jay and Hailey to protect them and it would be on him to heal them. It was on him to make sure any injuries they got he could fix. He was the one keeping them alive and he would need to make sure they were all healthy and mentally sound. He was the doctor and that wasn’t going to change no matter where they were.

“Don’t suppose you can tell what direction we’re going?” Hailey asked Jay with a playful smile.

“If you’re looking at a map, south.”

“You can seriously tell?” Hailey asked, surprised.

“You’ve been on a plane as much as me you can tell by the way the plane moves.” Jay said with a shrug.

“Well down south would be nice, no winter.” Will said, with a smile.

“No winter would be nice.” Hailey agreed.

“We’ll find out once we land.” Jay commented.

There was nothing more they could really say. Both Will and Hailey wanted to know more about this operation that Jay and Mouse needed to be in protection from but they couldn’t talk until they were alone. All they could do was wait until they landed and discovered where they would be living. It was a good three hours later when Jay sat down and put his seatbelt back on.

“We’re starting to land.” Jay told them.

Hailey and Will got sitting back up and put their belts back on as they started to feel the plane going down. They all looked out the window to see if they could tell where they were, but none of them could. Once the plane touched down they all got up and Jay thanked the pilots before they got out. They could see another small plane with the stairs down and Mouse walked down them. They also saw a black pickup truck without plates on it. 

“That’s ours.” Jay said with a nod to the truck.

They started the process of getting their things from the plane and over to the truck. Mouse came over with his own bags and Jay went over to help him carry some. 

“Hey brother.” Mouse said, as he pulled Jay in for a hug.

“Hey man, how are ya?” 

“Well rested. I got to sleep on the plane. You?”

“It’s already been a long day and it’s only lunchtime.” 

They got everything loaded into the bed of the truck and secured it so it wouldn’t bounce around. 

“What about the pilots?” Hailey asked.

“They’ll head back. Let’s get out of here.” Jay answered, as he opened the driver’s door.

Hailey got in beside him with Mouse and Will in the back.

“Mouse, this is Hailey.” Jay said, as he started the truck.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. Jay’s told me a lot about you.” Mouse said with a warm smile.

“It’s good to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.” Hailey said with a smile in return.

Jay headed out for the main road as Will spoke. “Where are we going?” 

“Not far.” Jay said.

They drove for about ten minutes before Jay finally pulled off to a side road that was deserted. Once there parked and turned the truck off. 

“Everyone out.” Jay said, as he opened his door.

Mouse was already getting out and going around to the back of the truck to grab what he needed.

“What’s happening?” Hailey asked, as her and Will went over to Jay.

“Mouse is gonna check it for mics, cameras and trackers.” 

“Can never be too careful. Even if you think someone is on your side, they could betray you.” Mouse said, as he went over and started to scan the truck.

“From now on, you both have to be hyper vigilant. You need to know where you are at all times. If there is anyone that seems to be around more often. You always gotta be aware.” Jay said, as he looked around to make sure they were still alone.

“We will be.” Hailey promised.

“Mouse, what did you bring?” Jay asked.

“Everything I could. I got four laptops, secured internet, burner phones, two satellite phones, nine unregistered guns, all the ammo I had, a long lens camera, some pinhole cameras and mics. I even got some radios in case we need em. I’d like to get some security cameras for the place though.”

“I already got it on a list. I want to pick up what we need along the way and not in the final town. We don’t need people asking questions.” Jay said.

“Final town? Aren’t we in the final town?” Will asked.

“What town are we in?” Hailey asked.

“We can look on the GPS when we get back in the truck. And no, this is what the pilot thinks is the final town. We’ll have to drive the rest of the way.” Jay explained.

“It’s why there’s no plates, so the pilot doesn’t know what state we’ll be living in. If the pilot gets caught, he’ll tell em this town but we won’t be here.” Mouse said, as he popped the hood.

“Makes sense.” Will said with a nod.

“Anything Mouse?” Jay asked.

“Nothing in the car, it’s clean. Just gonna make sure the GPS locator in the truck is gone, then we’ll be good to go.” 

“Where are you coming from Mouse?” Hailey asked.

“Fort Benning, Georgia. We just got back from an Op and I got grabbed right from base.” 

“You rested?” Jay asked.

“I slept on the way back, I’m good.”

Jay gave a nod and made his way around to the passenger side of the car. He opened the glovebox and took out the envelopes and the screwdriver. Jay opened the large envelope where he knew the license plates would be. 

“What’s the winner?” Mouse asked, with his head still under the hood.

“Washington.” Jay said, as he picked up the plates and headed to the back of the truck.

“So we are going to be on the opposite side of the country.” Hailey said.

“For now. It’s good though, if we have to leave we’ll have lots of room to maneuver.” Jay said, as he got the plate on.

“We can go up into Canada or across the country.” Mouse added, as he closed the hood. “We’re good.”

“Now we just need to know where we are and where in Washington we’re going.” Will said, as Jay moved to add the front plate.

Mouse grabbed the other envelopes and went over to join Jay at the hood of the truck. Will and Hailey joined them as Mouse handed Jay the envelopes to open. Jay opened the smaller envelope that would contain their new IDs. He grabbed them out and handed them to each person, taking notice of the names and the address.

“Kamilche, Washington, where is that?” Will asked, confused.

“No idea, but thankfully there is a GPS in the truck.” Mouse said.

“Everyone, but Mouse has the same last name.” Hailey said, as she took notice of the IDs.

“So what the three of us are siblings?” Will asked.

“More likely since we said Hailey was my fiance, they made her my wife and you are my brother.” Jay said.

“I could be Hailey’s brother, could explain why we’re all living together.” Mouse suggested.

“That’s good, we’ll need to have backstories for the locals. Us all being related could work.” Hailey said.

“We’ll need to find a pawn shop along the way to pick up wedding rings for us.” Jay said, as he opened the larger envelope.

“What’s in that one?” Will asked.

“It’ll probably be housing info.” Mouse answered.

Jay pulled out a group of documents and started to read through them. He was expecting just a quick overview of the house, but instead it was endless legal documents. 

“What is all that?” Mouse asked, as he leaned over to see.

“Land deeds. Normally it’s only one house, but with four of us they did something different. It’s a horse ranch, there’s horses there and everything. We’ll need to go through the documents more, but it looks like it’s a functioning business and they just changed ownership over to us.” Jay said, as he skimmed it. 

“A horse ranch? That’s different for em.” Mouse commented.

“Normally people don’t go into SP together. It makes sense that they would place us within a business to explain away why there are four of us.” Jay said.

“Ya, but a horse ranch. Do any of us even know anything about horses?” Hailey asked.

“Jay and me used to help out our teammate Sticks at his family’s horse ranch in Texas once or twice a year. We know the basics, but not enough to run one.” Mouse said.

“We’ll have to learn. Alright, first step is getting there. Mouse, grab three laptops so we can get to work on the way. You focus on the cell, Hail you work on learning everything you can about this new town and area. Will, you focus on horse ranches and what we need to know to take care of em.” Jay said, taking charge.

“Copy that.” Mouse said, as he moved to the back of the truck to grab the laptops.

They all got into the truck with Jay behind the wheel and Hailey next to him. Mouse handed them a laptop as Jay got the truck on and the GPS up.

“Jackson, Mississippi.” Jay said, as he saw where they are.

“We got a long drive then.” Hailey commented.

Jay entered the address off his new license and waited to see just how long they had. “With traffic and any construction, we’re looking at a forty-eight hour drive.”

Jay moved the map around on the screen to see what States they would be going through.

“That’s a long drive. How are we doing it?” Will asked.

“We’ll have to stop part way through and then finish tomorrow. I’d like to hit Colorado tonight before we stop, that’s about the halfway point.” Jay said.

“It’s like twenty hours away though. We might have to do this in three days and not two man.” Mouse said.

“We can switch off driving.” Hailey suggested.

“Me and Mouse can, but until we get there you guys shouldn’t be driving. Mouse and me have more defensive driving then you do. We can’t take the chance of someone finding us along the way and we’re on the highway.” Jay said, as he rubbed his face. He was not looking forward nor expecting to have to drive this far. 

“I’m with Jay on that one.” Mouse agreed.

“Let’s get on the road and see how far we can go tonight. I get that you want to get there as soon as possible, but it’s no help to any of us if you both are too exhausted should something happen.” Will said.

“Ya, alright. You guys set?” Jay asked.

“We’re good.” Will answered.

Jay headed out and made his way towards the highway as Hailey spoke. “I know we need to get on the road, but any chance we can stop for some food along the way?”

“Ya no I need food and coffee too.” Mouse added.

“We all do.” Will agreed.

“I’ll hit a drive thru before the highway. Anyone care what it is?” Jay agreed.

When they all shook their heads Jay headed through town and just before he reached the highway he pulled into a burger joint and ordered some food and coffee. With that done they were on the open highway and heading off for Washington. 

“Alright, we’re alone, what’s with the cell?” Hailey asked, looking to get down to business.

“It was an operation we went on before our last tour. Operation Mountain Storm had one objective, eliminate everyone within a terrorist cell that had ties all over the Middle East and the States. Chicago specifically. We were sent into the mountains in Afghanistan to eliminate the whole cell, from the top down. Everything was going according to plan, until we found out that the leader’s younger brother wasn’t there. We couldn’t find him and we had to leave. The mission is classified as a success, but we were all told that the brother could start it up again and come looking for revenge.” Mouse began.

“A few weeks later we were going on our second tour and only Mouse and me survived it. After almost a decade of nothing we both assumed we were in the clear. Only now the brother has enough men to strike out. I brought my flash drive that has the operation details on it. Voight and Antonio will have access to my safe with the printed version. They are going to keep it from the team and work it locally. The military will handle any overseas. Whatever info we get we can relay it over to Voight and he’ll handle Chicago.” Jay finished.

“Is it safe for them?” Hailey asked.

“As long as they are careful. Voight said he would cover up the reason for why they are going after certain people. If they can get the leader of the Chicago division, we could go home. I have the number to two burner phones that they are going to use and we can contact them through. We can also use a secured line to make quick calls. Mouse, have you done any research on them?” Jay asked.

“Not yet. I didn’t want to do it on the plane. I’m working on it now. I’ll focus on Chicago, the military will handle the others in Country.”

“You got a secure line with us?” Jay asked.

“I can hook one up when we stop next.” 

“Good, we should call Voight and let him know we’re still in the clear. We’ll have to rotate between Voight and Antonio as the go between.”

“I know I asked this on the plane, but how long do you think we’ll be gone for?” Will asked, hoping for an answer now that they were alone.

“Realistically, six months minimum. It could be years before we can ever go back.” Jay finally answered.

“The best thing we can do to help is stay out of trouble and find the ones in Chicago. Jay’s right, if we eliminate the threat in Chicago then we can go home even if the threat is still overseas. The trick is gonna be finding them, they like to hide and there’s no guarantee on numbers. We’re gonna have to do some digging.” Mouse added.

“It’s a good thing there’s three of us that are investigators.” Hailey said with a small smile.

“You got anything on the town?” Jay asked.

“It’s on the outskirts, like a subtown to Olympia and it’s not too far from Seattle. It’s a lot of farmlands. Now the ranch, Tranquility Bay, has been in business for fifty years and has had multiple owners. The last owners recently retired, but they have someone coming by a few times a day to take care of the horses. There’s twenty horses and the business focuses on horse boarding as well as providing horses for a riding trail nearby. There’s a lot of beaches in the town though, there’s lots of little lakes so I’d imagine the horse riding would be pretty busy.” Hailey answered.

“Alright, let’s get a full work up on the town, Olympia and Seattle. Look for anyone that could have ties to a terrorist cell, anyone that could be a problem for us.” Jay said.

“On it.” Hailey agreed.

“All of the laptops are connected. You see that little red computer icon on the bottom of the screen? If you find someone of interest just drag it down there and I’ll get the info and I can run em for any connections.” Mouse said.

“Oh nice.” Hailey said, that would make it easier.

“While you are doing that, I am learning everything there is about horses and how to run a horse ranch.” Will said, as he grabbed a notebook and pen from his bag. 

Jay focused on driving while the others got to work. Over the next ten hours they had worked their way through the drive. They stopped once to stop for a bathroom break and to update Voight real quick. They couldn’t tell him where they were going just that they were still enroute. It was ten at night when the traffic had finally come to a complete stop. It was nothing but bumper to bumper traffic. The other side of the highway was moving good, so whatever was going on was only on their side. Jay turned the radio to a news station to see if he could find anything, but nothing was being reported.

“Great. How far do you think this goes?” Hailey asked.

They had been in the car for ten hours now and all of them were getting stiff and sore from sitting for so long. They all knew it was going to be a long drive, but that didn’t make being stuck in a car this long any easier. 

“No idea. Mouse, can you reach one of those big rigs that are going by us?” Jay said.

“Ya.” Mouse picked up the radio and changed it to a normal frequency to see if he could pick anyone up. “Eastbound Kenmore, do you copy?”

“Will you be able to pick someone up on it?” Will asked.

“If we’re on the same frequency.” Mouse answered.

“Ten-four, I hear you loud and clear.” A male’s voice said over the radio.

“I’m in a car going Westbound, do you know how far this traffic goes?” 

“Goes quite a ways up for you. Large pile up involving a parking lot, tanker and multiple cars. The road was on fire, there’s first responders all over the place. Traffic is bumper to bumper for a hundred miles.”

“Fuck.” Jay said, as he put his blinker on and started to move over so he could get to the off ramp just up ahead.

“Appreciate it. Safe driving.” Mouse said.

“What do we do now? Take back roads and go around?” Will asked.

“For a hundred miles, it’d take hours going through towns.” Mouse said.

“The accident will take hours to clean up.” Hailey commented.

“We’re twenty miles away from the New Mexico State line. Once we cross we can find a motel to crash in for the night. We can start early tomorrow morning.” Jay said, as he took the exit.

“Sounds like a plan.” Mouse said.

He closed his laptop and started to get it put away in its bag. They had been going for ten hours on research, but the day didn’t start ten hours ago but rather at six in the morning for him. He knew that Jay had been awake since five and with having been the one driving all day his eyes were bound to be tired. They had only stopped once for a bathroom break and they had only had lunch before they hit the road. Mouse knew they needed to get better at this tomorrow and make sure they had some snacks or something to get them through the day. It would be no good if they were too rundown and tired to do anything if an attack happened. 

It was another hour thanks to traffic and city traffic lights before they finally crossed into New Mexico. It was another thirty minutes before they finally found a roadside motel just off a back highway. The motel was also attached to a twenty-four hour diner and pizza place. It was perfect for them to grab some food tonight and breakfast tomorrow. Jay pulled in and parked his truck in front of the office.

“I’ll be back.”

Jay got out of the truck and headed inside. 

“I’m worried about him.” Will said.

“He’ll be fine. He’ll be on edge until he gets used to the new way of life. He’ll still be on edge, but he’ll have fun and relax as well. He used to always be like this that first week on tour. He got into the routine of it and it got easier on him. He can survive without a routine, but he does prefer to have somewhat of a routine in the day. He’ll adapt, it’s what Jay does.” Mouse said.

“He also obsesses over a puzzle that he can’t solve. When stressed his nightmares and insomnia gets worse. Not to mention we all know his PTSD can flare up. You know better than anyone Mouse, that he’ll go days without sleep, he won’t eat properly, he drinks. I’m not saying he will, but we would be fools not to keep an eye on him for a little while.” Will argued.

“And we will. Jay’s gotten a good grasps on his PTSD, he’s gotten stronger. He’ll be able to handle this. What he doesn’t need is us questioning that. Jay’s instincts have kept him alive through hell and back, we trust him.” Hailey said with strength to her voice.

Jay walked back out and headed back for the truck. They could see that he had two room keys so he was able to at least get rooms for them. Jay spoke once he got back into the truck.

“Good news, they have two rooms available. Bad news, there’s only one bed in the room, but there is a couch.”

“Well, it’s not sleeping in this car so it can’t be that bad.” Hailey commented.

“Who’s going with who?” Mouse asked.

“Up to Hail.” Jay said.

“Why me?”

“Because three of us have slept in the same room together. I’ve slept in the same bed as them. We’re all gentlemen, but it’s up to you who you are more comfortable with.” Jay explained.

“I’m good with crashing with you.” Hailey easily said.

Jay gave a nod and he moved the truck to the other side of the motel to their rooms. They had rooms on the ground floor on the other side of the motel, something Jay was happy about. It would block them from the road and out of sight. 

“This is us, room 127 and 128.” Jay passed a key back to Mouse, who easily took it.

“We need some food. We should grab a pizza or something.” Will suggested.

“We can walk over, let’s get our stuff inside first. I don’t want to leave anything in the truck just in case.” Jay said.

They all gave a nod and got out. Jay went over to their room and pulled his gun so he could make sure it was clear. Mouse going over to his room and doing the same. Hailey stood by Will at the truck with her gun ready as well. Will didn’t have a gun yet, but that would have to be something they corrected once they arrived in Washington. 

“Clear.” Jay called out.

“Clear.” Mouse said, as he went back over to the door.

“Did you think it wouldn’t be?” Will asked, he knew they had to be careful, but how would someone be in a motel room? It wasn’t like they had been staying here for a few days and could be tracked. 

“Never be too careful.” Mouse said.

They began to unload the truck and get them into the rooms. Once the truck was empty they made the short walk over to the pizza place. 

“There’s a gas station and convenience store across the street. We should stop in tomorrow before we leave to grab some snacks.” Will offered as they waited for their pizzas to cook.

“I bet they got a cooler, we could grab some ice and water bottles.” Mouse added.

“Ya that would be good. We haven’t taken very good care of ourselves today.” Hailey commented.

“We can grab some stuff tomorrow and fill up the truck.” Jay agreed.

Once their pizzas were ready they headed back to their own rooms so they could unwind for the night. They all agreed to meet at the diner at five in the morning for breakfast before they would head out. With it being just after midnight it wouldn’t give them much sleep, but they could sleep in the car tomorrow as well. Jay let out a sigh as he sat down in the chair at the small table in the room.

“You ok?” Hailey asked, as she sat down to eat as well.

“Ya, just been a long day.”

“I know you’re used to little sleep, but you’ve been driving a long time today, your eyes must be tired.” 

“I’m pretty used to it. I’ve spent a lot of time looking through the barrel of a scope. Just didn’t expect all of this today. How are you holding up?”

Jay was worried about how well Hailey and Will would do with all of this. Him and Mouse took on this risk when they signed up for the Rangers. They knew there was a chance that they could be killed or placed within the special protection unit. Will and Hailey never signed up for this. This wasn’t a part of their lives. It felt wrong to Jay for them to be here, but if Will wasn’t he would be targeted to try and find his location. As for Hailey, she made the decision, but Jay couldn’t help but wonder if she truly understood what that decision would mean for her life.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. Kinda feels like we’re all going on a vacation.”

“It’ll sink in soon enough. I’m here for you though, when you need to talk.”

“I know you are.” Hailey said with a warm smile.

They sat in comfortable silence while they ate and when they were done they decided to get ready for bed. 

“Do you have a shirt I could barrow to sleep in?” Hailey asked.

“Ya sure.” 

Jay went over to his bag and pulled out a black t-shirt and handed it to her. He then picked up a pillow from the bed and placed it down on the couch.

“Jay, you’re not sleeping on the couch.” Hailey immediately said.

“I am not letting you sleep on it.”

Hailey rolled her eyes. Jay was always a gentleman and it was sweet, but at the same time the man needed some real sleep. 

“It’s a double bed, we can sleep in it together. I promise to keep my hands to myself.” Hailey said with a playful smile.

“You sure?” Jay didn’t want Hailey to feel uncomfortable at all.

“Ya it’s not a big deal.” Hailey said with a shrug as she headed for the bathroom.

After a quick shower Jay got in and when he got out Hailey was already in bed. He grabbed his gun and placed it under his pillow before getting into bed. It was weird laying next to Hailey, but nice as well. Jay had known he was developing romantic feelings for her for the past few months now. He suspected that Hailey had some as well, but they were never willing to risk their partnership or friendship for something more. 

“Do you always sleep with a gun under your pillow?” Hailey asked.

“I do ya. Old habits die hard I guess. Don’t worry the safety is on and it’s pointing at the door and not you.”

Hailey turned on her side so she was facing Jay. She couldn’t help but feel like she was underdressed. She was only sleeping in her underwear and his shirt, his shirt was more than long enough to cover her. Still, he was fully dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants and she couldn’t help but notice how he’s always got clothes on around her. Even when they are crashing at each other’s places he always sleeps with clothes on. He’s also always awake before her so even if he wasn’t fully dressed he was by the time she got out of bed. Sure, she’s gone into the bathroom while he was in the shower, but it’s not like she was poking her head behind the curtain to talk to him. It was like he was hyper aware of their friendship and made sure he didn’t do anything that could be even slightly inappropriate. Hailey had no idea what was going to happen in their new life, but she was glad to have Jay by her side.

“Good night Jay.”

“Night Hail.”

Hailey closed her eyes and allowed the exhaustion to take her under. This was only day one and they had a long way to go still before they would arrive at their new home and Hailey was hoping everything would go well.

XXX 

Five in the morning came all too soon for Hailey. When Jay’s alarm went off she was not even the least bit surprised that Jay easily turned the alarm off and was almost instantly awake. His years in the military had his internal clock up and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Hailey groaned and put her arm over her head.

“No one should be awake this early.” She grumbled, it caused Jay to chuckle a bit.

“I guess that means you’re not going to be up at five every day helping with the horses.”

“You are my best friend and I love you, but you will never see me up at five in the morning shoveling horse crap.”

Jay laughed at that. He didn’t expect Hailey to be helping out much with the horses. He knew she was not a country girl, she loved the city. She could visit the country, but she did not want to live in it. Thankfully they wouldn’t be in the country but rather on the outskirts of a major city. 

“What happened to women power and equal rights?” Jay teased.

“All still there, but farm work, that is man’s work. I’ve never been around a horse before in my life, I’m not about to start picking up after them. I will be in the office handling that side of things. I’ll be cooking and cleaning the house while you, Mouse and Will can be out in the fields. I like people better than you do anyways.”

“I like people.” Jay said, as he sat up.

“Tell that to your face when you talk with them. You’re good with people, especially witnesses and victims, but you generally don’t like making small talk with strangers. You have a close group of friends and you stick with it. I’m more friendly with strangers then you. And I won’t come across as military.”

“I don’t come across as military.” 

“Regulation haircut, minimal facial hair, your size and the way you stand, all reads as military. Don’t worry about it, it’s who you are. You’re a soldier, you used to protect people overseas and now you do it in Chicago. It’s who you are and what makes you a great guy and a great detective.” Hailey said with a warm smile.

“Alright fine, you can deal with the office end of things while me, Mouse and Will handle the horses. Do you want a shower?”

“I just had one last night, I’ll take one tonight after being in a car all day long. Unless you are telling me I smell.” Hailey said with a smirk.

“Not at all.” Jay said, before he got up and made his way into the bathroom.

Hailey stretched before she sat up and tried to wake up. It was very early and she did not get anywhere near enough sleep. She had no idea how Jay did this so easily. She guessed his years of training were hard to die. Hailey got up and headed over to her duffle bag and started to grab some clean clothes. Jay came out of the bedroom and saw Hailey searching through her duffle bag still wearing just his t-shirt. He could not help but notice how amazing her legs looked and how good she looked in just his t-shirt. Hailey turned around with her clean clothes and gave him a warm smile as she made her way towards the bathroom.

“Do you think Will and Mouse are up?”

“Oh ya, Mouse would have already popped out of bed. I’ll text him and tell him we’ll meet them in the diner.”

“Sounds good. I just need to get changed, brush my teeth and hair, then I’ll be good to go.” 

Jay gave a nod and Hailey headed into the bathroom to get changed and ready. Jay moved over to his own duffle bag to get his clothes changed. He still couldn’t believe this was happening. He never expected it and now they were in the thick of things. He was just hoping everything went ok and they could be back sooner then he was expecting. He didn’t care if something happened to him, but he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to Hailey, Mouse or Will. He just hoped that this place would work and they didn’t have to keep moving around. 

It was twenty minutes later when everyone was sitting in the diner waiting for their food. They were the only ones here at this hour, something both Mouse and Jay were pleased with. It meant they wouldn’t have to be watching the other people within the diner. 

“Afterwards we should go across the street and fill up plus get some real snacks. We can’t go all day not eating or just eating junk.” Mouse said.

“We do need some real food and water. They probably have coolers in there, we could get some water too.” Will added.

“Ya alright, as long as we are quick. We’re vulnerable on the road.” Jay said.

“I’ll go in with Will.” Mouse said, knowing that Jay was going to be on edge until they settled into their new home.

“Are we going to get there today?” Hailey asked.

“I doubt it. We’ll get as close as we can before we crash for the night. I don’t want to get there at night.” Jay answered.

“I agree, you don’t want to scope out a new place in the pitch dark. Be better to crash, even for a few hours before heading in.” Mouse said.

“Whatever you think is best.” Will said. 

He knew better than to try and get between Jay and his plans. Jay had the most skill out of them all and serious instincts, he trusted him and would follow his lead. They were all going to get through this together, no matter what the future held for them. 


End file.
